Taipei Cafes: Rufous Coffee

A review of cafe Rufous Coffee in Da’An District, Taipei. Notes are by an amateur coffee enthusiast and digital nomad. Descriptions are equal parts coffee and remote-work suitability. Most photos are shot with a second-hand Fujifilm X100. This is part of my Taipei Coffee Walk: NTU, Zhongzheng, Da’An Districts.

Rufous serves a variety of single origin roasts — Photo by Athena Lam

Cafe Overview:

Rufous Coffee is a 5-minute walk from the Technology Building Station (科技大樓站) — Photo by Athena Lam

Rufous Coffee Roasters is one of those cafes that demands effort from its clientele. Despite being a stone’s throw from an MRT station, the shop location is a distance from both the bustling shopping areas and cafe agglomerations around the universities.

The small cafe seats about 30 people — Photo by Athena Lam

Even with the added layer of inconvenience, Rufous was almost full on an early weekday afternoon. Having said that, the seated guests chattered away and were in no rush to leave, even when I paid my bill almost an hour later.

Rufous Coffee has been around for a decade, making it one of Taipei’s pioneering specialty coffee shops. Unlike its esteemed counterparts such as GaBee, which has a flare for innovative coffee-inspired drinks, Rufous Coffee Roasters is known for its single-origin beans. The menu offering is extensive, and also a bit expensive (roughly around 150-200 NTD).

I was in a rush that day since I had taken my lunch break to come here and I forgot to note the drink I’d ordered, but I remember it being a delightful mix of both fruity and smokey.

The counter seats that offer a view of the syphon and filter brews — Photo by Athena Lam

I didn’t notice any plugs, but there might be one at the back table, where a student was working. Wi-Fi is available for remote work. I would not recommend coming on the weekend, as the place gets quite packed.

A busy weekend afternoon — Photo by Athena Lam

Their Story / What I like About Them:

The small counters are better for reading and writing — Photo by Athena Lam

When I went, the owner wasn’t in, but the grapevine tells me that he was previously in the restaurant business and started the cafe because he was obsessed about the quality of coffee. He’s still involved in everything from sourcing to roasting and the name Rufous comes from the rust-coloured red-brown that he believes the drink should have.

As a side note, everyone writes about the Panama Geisha, so that should be a safe bet if you want to try their best. I remember choosing amongst the lower-priced single origins on the menu just to test their baseline.

Rufous Coffee’s eclectic collections — Photo by Athena Lam

Good For:

Coffee: Pour-over, syphon, espresso

Food: Desserts

Cafe Space: Approx 30 people

Friends: Small-group hangouts / one-to-one

Workspace: Coffee counter, a few 4-person tables, 1 big group table at the back